Anna Sebastian Perayil, age 26, passed away from a heart attack merely four months after starting work at an Indian financial organization.
According to The Times of India, Anna’s mother; Anita Augustine, wrote a letter to the organization’s management alleging that her daughter’s overwork and subsequent death were caused by the company’s poisonous culture and workload.
“Anna would return to her room utterly exhausted, sometimes collapsing on the bed without even changing her clothes, only to be bombarded with messages asking for more reports. She was putting in her best efforts, working very hard to meet the deadlines,” Augustine was quoted as saying in the letter according to Going Concern.
She went on to say that her daughter was a fighter to the core and would not give up quickly.
Her family reportedly told her to resign, but she wanted to learn and get new experiences. Eventually, she could not cope under the crushing pressure.
“The management took full advantage of the fact that she was new and overwhelmed her with both assigned and unassigned work. This is a systemic issue that goes beyond individual managers or teams.
“The relentless demands and the pressure to meet unrealistic expectations are not sustainable, and they cost us the life of a young woman with so much potential,” she reportedly continued in the letter.
After the letter went viral, the company responded saying that it was ‘deeply saddened’ about what transpired.
“We are taking the family’s correspondence with the utmost seriousness and humility. We place the highest importance on the wellbeing of all employees and will continue to find ways to improve and provide a healthy workplace,” said the company.
Overwork has long been associated with detrimental effects on workers’ physical and emotional well-being. According to a World Health Organization study, working 55 hours a week results in 398,000 stroke deaths and 347,000 heart disease deaths annually.
